“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert”. – J Robert Oppenheimer.

Britain must accept that major parts of its offshore wind farms will be manufactured abroad, Danish giant Dong Energy has said, as new figures reveal the vast scale of subsidies it is set to receive from UK consumers.

The state-backed Danish company has benefited more than any other developer from the UK’s push for offshore wind and is facing fresh calls to invest more of its multi-billion pound proceeds into a British supply chain.

Figures obtained by the Telegraph show that existing UK wind farms in which Dong has stakes, combined with new projects it is currently building, are together set to receive more than £1.5bn a year in subsidies, funded by levies on energy bills. Dong is in line for a significant share of the windfall.

Although blades for the new turbines will be made in the UK, Samuel Leupold, a senior Dong executive, said it made sense to source other major parts elsewhere, such as nacelles – the part of the turbine that houses the generators – from Germany, and most foundations and towers from other European countries.

Mr Leupold said the idea of a complete domestic supply chain for all turbine parts was “what politicians dream of” but, since every country sought that, it was “the contrary of becoming cost-efficient”….

Martin Vickers, a Tory MP whose constituency includes supply chain firms, said the UK content of these projects should be higher and it was “payback time”.

One rival wind executive said it was “incumbent on the Government” to make companies like Dong that received generous contracts “buy supply from UK-based organisations”.

John Constable of the Renewable Energy Foundation, a campaign group critical of wind subsidies, said: “The subsidies to offshore wind turbines in Dong’s portfolio are in effect energy taxes levied on British consumers for the benefit of the Danish government and equipment manufacturers, mostly in Germany.”

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Dong not only rinse UK taxpayers – they practiced on Danish ones for years … They aren’t a private company in the real sense merely re-branded Danish state bureaucrats on a very short leash from the real Danish government – AP Moeller and their chums.

Unfortunately, this is typical now of the contempt our politicians treat us with. Shows how easy it is to be screwed twice !! I note that the company is partly state owned (subsidised ?) – thought that wasn’t allowed under EU rules !!

In my evidence to the proposed Navitus Bay ofshore wind farm examination (inquiry) I noted that RenewableUK were claiming “For the purposes of this study we have assumed that by 2022 almost 70% of orders relating to UK offshore wind farms during the capital phase will be sourced from UK Tier 1 suppliers compared with around 20% today”. Compete tosh of course.

The Danes are now proving to be the best entrepreneurs in Europe and the UK Government the worst. The lie-by omission is that these projects create UK jobs; they do, but they create far more jobs and wealth in Denmark and Germany, not a lot of people know that.

Could we not persuade the SNP to do a swap with Denmark in their next referendum: similar population sizes but the Danes would contribute a lot more to the common good, the UK might then become a manufacturing / exporting country again, add Norway and we all become rich!